FBI agents honed their skills in identifying and collecting evidence from bodies at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in May at the annual “Body Farm” field study class. Bodies are buried and left to decompose so that agents can dig them up, study them and gain experience in body recovery.
The following comes from the FBI’s Web site:
The bug expert gathered FBI agents around the table to introduce his maggots. He selected a mature one from a watery dish and held it up to his eyepiece, staring through its translucent carapace like a jeweler appraising a precious stone.
“All of these, if you look, have a gut in them,” said Dr. Ian Dadour, a forensic entomologist, explaining how pinpointing a maggot’s age can tell a lot about what it’s eating. “So this means they’re still feeding…they haven’t used all their food up.”
That’s great news, but can they dig up a live bank robber?